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'PATENTED MAEJ. 1904.

v G. A. LONG. TELEPHONE TOLL APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 8. 1902.

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wizzesaa PATENTED MAR. 1,1904.

G. A. LONG. TELEPHONE TOLL APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 8. 1902.

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U0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented March 1, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A; LONG, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRAY TELEPHONEPAY STATION COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

TELEPHONE TOLL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,412, dated March I,1904.

Application filed November 3, 1902. Serial No. 130,544. (No model-)- Toall whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LONG, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTelephone Toll Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to telephone appara- IO tus, and more particularlyto that class of mechanism which is applied to or used in connectionwith a set of telephone instruments for collecting tolls ortokens foreach specific use of the instrument. 5 The object of the invention is toprovide a very simple and effective mechanism which will be as far aspossible provided against illicit use and in which the user will sufferno loss by inserting a coin in an improper slot or channel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plurality ofcoin-receivers which may be individually actuated and which in theiroperation will select only coins of proper de- 5 nomination and size,throwing out all coins notdintended for the receiver sought to be use Astill further object is to arrange the parts of the mechanism so thatwhen a coin of 3 proper size has been inserted the operation of themechanism will cause the coin to directly actuate agong or soundingdevice, which constitutes a signal and may be heardby the cen' traloperator.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a set oftelephone instruments with the toll apparatus in position. Fig. 2 is aview in front elevation, the casing being broken away, together withother parts,

4 to show construction. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line w a: of Fig.2. Fig. 4. is a view in vertical section on line y y of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes a casing, which may bemade of any desired form and material and has projecting through onewall a series of plungers 2 3 4, provided with thumb-pieces 5 6 7 Theseplungers are arranged to actuate coin receivers 8 9 10, which arelocated within the casing and when in normal position rest in 5registering position below the slots of a coinplate 11. This coin-plateis supposed to have openings of just the proper size to receive perfectcoins of certain denominations-say twenty-five cents, ten cents, andlive cents and the carriers 8 9 10 are preferably made a little largerthan the 'ordinarv coin intended to be carried by them.

The receivers 8 9 10 and their operatingplungers are forced forward intotheir normal position by springs 12 13 14:. and in the preferredarrangement of the plungers they are carried through a bearing-plate 15,secured within the casing and in which they may reciprocate freely. Thecarriers are open 5 at both ends, so that they may receive and dischargea coin; but when in normal position 1 they rest over and bear upon acoin-selecting plate 16. This plate is provided with openings whichregister with the openings through 7 the receivers when in normalposition, and said openings are made of just the proper size to preventthe passage of a perfect coin. If, however, a coin of slightly smallerdiameter than a perfect one is inserted, it will be trapped through theorifice in this plate. As

'will be seen from the detail drawings, this opening is slightlytapered, its widest point being just under the carrier when in itsnormal position.

Just below the coin-selecting plate 16 and in registering position withits trap-section is a chute or receiver 17 having an outlet 18 throughone wall of the casing. This outlet receives any coins which dropthrough the 5 coin-selecting plate and passes them to the outside of thecasing, where they may be picked up by the operator from a properreceptacle or pocket.

Arranged just above the several coin-re- 9 ceivers and in their path ofmovement are a series of resilient ejectors 20. The coin-receivers havetwo of their walls cut away, as at 19, and the opening thus formed is inregistering position with these resilient ejectors.

Below the coin-selecting-plate or in any convenient position arearranged a series of signals, preferably a distinctive one for eachcorresponding receiver and located in such position that a coin ejectedfrom the receiver will be thrown with more or less violence against thegong or signal, causing such a sound to be emitted as will be plainlytransmitted over the ordinary line-wire to the central operator.

In using the device a coin is inserted through one of the openings inthe coin-plate and finds its way into one of the receivers. If it is acoin of proper size, it rests therein until the receiver has been forcedinward by a pressure upon its operating-rod to such an extent that thereceiver, with its coin, has passed beyond the inner edge of thecoin-selecting plate 16. During this inward movement the upper edge ofthe coin comes in contact with the resilient ejector 20, which exerts acertain pressure upon it, and from the very shape of the coinselectingplate 16 the pressure upon the coin is exerted just at the instant itpasses beyond the edge of the plate. This ejector 2O throws the coindownward through the coin-carrier and projects it against the gong orsignal device. Of course it is understood that it immediately falls intothe bottom of the casing into a money-drawer 21.

In the preferred form of the device the carriers are of course made of asufficient length and size to give a proper initial direction ofmovement to the coin and cause it to impinge against its particularsignal or signals. In fact, acoin-chute is entirely superfluous, as thecarriers, being made of sufficient length to give vthe properdirectional movement to the coin upon ejection, answer all the requiredpurposes and serve as a barrel for directing the movement of the coinwhich is forcibly projected through it. The term projected is used toimply that the coin moves freely through space after leaving thecarriers. The advantages of such an arrangement are apparent, asobviously the carriers may be arranged to throw the coin in any one ofseveral directions so long as the forcible ejector exerts the requiredpressure to project the coin against the sound-yielding body.

Obviously the signals may be varied to suit any particular case, andmore than a single signal may be interposed in the path of movement ofthe falling coin. The purpose of such an arrangement is apparent, as itis essential that the signals for the several different carriers andrepresenting the coins of different denominations must be distinctiveones which may be distinguished from one another by the centraloperator;

It is apparent that the details of the device herein described might bevaried to a great extent without deviating from the purpose and intentof the invention, which contemplates one or more coin-carriers arrangedfor retaining only coins of proper size in said carriers and means forreleasing the coins fromthe carrier or carriers at a predeterminedinstant and a sounding mechanism adapted to be actuated upon the releaseof the coin.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination in atelephone toll apparatus including a casing, acarrier adapted to receive a token, means for forcibly projecting thetoken from the carrier upon a predetermined movement thereof, and a gongor soundyielding body operatively arranged with relation to said carrierand adapted to be struck by the projected token upon the release of saidtoken from the carrier.

2. In combination in a telephone toll apparatus including a casing, acarrier adapted to receive and retain a token, means for moving saidcarrier, means for forcibly projecting the token from the carrier, and agong or sound yielding body arranged in the path of movement of theprojected token and adapted to be sounded thereby.

3. In a telephone toll apparatus including a casing, a plurality ofcarriers adapted toreceive tokens of various denominations, independentmeans for actuating each of said carriers, means for releasing thetokens from the carriers, projectors for forcibly throwing the tokens ina predetermined path from the carriers, and gongs or sound-yieldingbodies arranged in the path of the projected tokens.

4:. In combination in a telephone toll apparatus, a casing, a movablecarrier mounted .kens in the carriers during a predetermined movementthereof, an ejector adapted to forcibly throw the token from the carrierwhen said carrier has reached its releasing position, and a gong orsound-yielding body arranged to be sounded by the impact of theprojected co1n.

GEORGE A. LONG.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR B. JENKINS, IRMA P. OOFFRIN.

IIO

